Candidates tout intelligence experience in the face of an unsteady president and a dangerous world. : Analysis Interpretation of the news based on evidence, including data, as well as anticipating how events might unfold based on past events Alarmed by President Trump and galvanized by Russian interference in the 2016 election, Democratic alumni of the Central Intelligence Agency are challenging Republican incumbents from Virginia to Michigan and New York. Abigail Spanberger spent eight years as an operations officer for the CIA, recruiting and developing spies, with a focus on counterterrorism.